I was talking with my sister yesterday about the climate here, and the fact it does not rain (at all) from about April through September/October here. It is bone dry. She mused that there must not be much agriculture grown in the summer, but I assured her otherwise. I got curious about how much produce California supplies to the U.S. and spent a couple hours surfing for information. Below is a smidgen of what I found.

The state is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the country, accounting for 49 percent of the total U.S. value. Tree and vine fruit production in California is 58 percent of the U.S. value, and vegetable and melon production is 39 percent of the U.S. value. California accounts for more than 99 percent of national production of artichokes, Brussels sprouts, dates, figs, kiwifruit, cling peaches, persimmons, prunes and raisins. It accounts for at least 50 percent of U.S. production of table grapes, wine grapes, lettuce, strawberries, broccoli, plums, celery, carrots, avocados, fresh-market oranges, cauliflower, honeydew, cantaloupes and processing tomatoes. While it produces less than 40 percent of total U.S. production of spinach and asparagus, California grows more of these commodities than any other single state.